The war of words between Elon Musk and Sam Altman has officially escalated into a full-scale legal war. A new lawsuit filed by Musk’s xAI against OpenAI and Apple makes good on a threat Musk issued just weeks ago during a public spat with the OpenAI CEO, turning social media insults into a formal federal complaint.
The lawsuit’s core allegations mirror the claims Musk made online: that Apple is unfairly manipulating its platform to favor OpenAI and block other AI companies. The complaint formalizes this, alleging an “unlawful conspiracy to monopolize” that prevents competitors like xAI’s Grok from having a fair chance at success.
The recent public exchange between the two billionaires was particularly sharp, setting the stage for this litigation. After Musk threatened to sue, Altman retorted with a thinly veiled jab at Musk’s alleged manipulation of his own platform, X. This acrimonious back-and-forth provided the immediate prelude to the legal filing.
OpenAI’s response to the lawsuit—calling it “harassment”—is a direct continuation of this public feud. The entire episode demonstrates how personal animosity and public posturing between tech moguls can quickly evolve into high-stakes litigation with the potential to reshape entire industries.